Hate to be the bearer of bad news, BBN, but our magical Sunday together is almost to an end. Don't cry! You can still find me on KSR College and Twitter, or occasionally in St. Louie rolling on dubs. Instead of reminiscing about the past twelve hours, let's look ahead to our future. Or rather, UK's basketball future.
We're rounding the final bend of SEC play, and it's crunch time for the Cats. These next seven regular season games will be hard-fought and will go a long way towards determining Kentucky's post-season success.
2/7/12 vs Florida
The Swamp People are currently ranked #11, which looks to hold steady next week after a 73-65 win against Vanderbilt.
Florida boasts a well-balanced offense, with five players averaging in double digits, and rank ninth in the nation in points per game. However, the Cats hold their opponents to 36% field goal percentage- making them the best team in the nation, defensively. Add that to the fact that this is a home game and the Cats have been hitting their Dougie as of lately? It'll be tough, but the Cats should pull out the victory.
2/11/12 at Vanderbilt
The talk surrounding this game (if Jimmy Dykes has anything to do with it) will center on
how the freshmen respond to a wacky gym and a riled-up opposing student section. However, Davis and MKG seem to catch on pretty quickly (at least quicker than Jarnell Stokes and stretching), so the odds are good that one of them will NOT run the wrong way down the court next Saturday. Vanderbilt has seesawed in the rankings and probably will not stay in the top 25 this week after losing to Florida. That said, an away game at Vandy is always a challenge, and with the Commodores 5-3 in the SEC, the Cats will have to focus to win in Nashville. Here's hoping BBN will continue their habit of traveling especially well this season- this is a game in which a strong showing of blue could have a big impact. Also, Tyler Thompson may cry if we lose. We don't want that to happen.
2/18/12 vs Ole Miss
The Rebels only average 66 points a game as is. Throw Anthony Davis into the mix, and I predict they have a hard time breaking fifty- especially when the Cats are coming off a week of rest. Ole Miss also shoots 60% from the free throw line.
On a side note, one of Ole Miss's (former*) players is named Dundrecous Nelson. Start getting your jokes in order now, folks.
*Poor Dundrecous fell victim to the classic "cop hiding behind the pizza delivery guy" trick, so we won't be seeing him on the bench. Hopefully Jimmy Dykes will have some valuable insight into the situation. "It's not delivery, it's Dundrecous!"
2/21/12 at Mississippi State
I'm already nervous about this one. Mississippi State is ranked 19th in the nation and third in the SEC. Despite a strange loss to Arkansas and a mere three-point victory against Auburn,
the Bulldogs will be dangerous, especially at home. Arnett Moultrie averages 17 points and just over 11 rebounds per game; Davis will need to issue a Chicago-style lockdown on Moultrie to propel the Cats to victory. In other news, Renardo Sydney weighs 270 lbs, which is forty more than teammate Moultrie and about twice as much as Davis.
This will be the game where we truly see how Davis handles himself against brute big men.
Like this one.
2/25/12 vs Vanderbilt
Kentucky's schedule looks a little goofy to me, seeing as how we play both Vandy and Florida twice in our last seven SEC games. After a presumably physical game against Mississippi State, much of the outcome of this game will depend on
how exhausted the team is as well as how the players learn from their previous game against Vandy. The home game setting will definitely be appreciated, and the turnaround from Mississippi State to Vanderbilt will be good preparation for tournament play.
3/1/12 vs Georgia
Georgia sucks. There's really not much more to say. Kentucky should have beaten them by more than 13 when they played on January 24, and this game could be one of the last major blowouts Cats fans have a chance to see this season.
I foresee Jarrod Polson finally getting some minutes in. The only thing anyone associated with UK should worry about is the tongue-twisting potential that comes with a game featuring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
3/4/12 at Florida
This will be tricky. The Gators will host UK on their Senior Day, bidding adieu to Erving Walker, the fun-sized guard from Brooklyn.
Florida will be riled up, and the Cats will not be content to end the SEC regular season on a loss. Depending on how both teams perform leading up to this game, the showdown could also have implications for SEC tournament seeding and the coveted first-round bye seeding. Both teams will be at their peaks, and for all practical purposes, this game will be played as if it were a post-season game.
If Erving Walker looks as bamboozled during the game as he does in this picture, the Cats will easily win.
That's it for me, KSR.
It's been real, it's been fun, and it's been real fun. Thanks for reading and leaving (mostly) complimentary comments. See ya on KSRCollege.com.
Although we've come… to the end of the road… still I can't let go. It's unnatural. You belong to me. I belong to you. Let's keep the relationship going on Twitter, shall we? @KristenGeilKSR 
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